Exeter selectmen opt to join river study on nitrogen

EXETER — The town has signed on with five other communities to fund a calibrated computer model that will challenge the science used by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in issuing new draft discharge permits for wastewater treatment plants discharging nitrogen into the Great Bay estuary.

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By Aaron Sanborn

seacoastonline.com

By Aaron Sanborn

Posted Jun. 15, 2011 at 2:00 AM

By Aaron Sanborn

Posted Jun. 15, 2011 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

EXETER — The town has signed on with five other communities to fund a calibrated computer model that will challenge the science used by the federal Environmental Protection Agency in issuing new draft discharge permits for wastewater treatment plants discharging nitrogen into the Great Bay estuary.

Selectmen voted 4-0 on Monday to sign the memorandum. Selectman Donald Clement was absent. Other communities that signed the agreement are Portsmouth, Newmarket, Dover and Rochester. Durham has yet to sign the memorandum.

Last month, multiple Exeter selectmen expressed reservations over funding the study because of uncertainty surrounding costs and what it would accomplish. However, the four selectmen in attendance threw their support behind the study after sitting through last week' EPA public hearing on the town's discharge permit.

Selectman Frank Ferraro said there were two things that disturbed him from last week's hearing. First, that 75 milligrams per liter of nitrogen are coming down the Squamscott River before it gets to Exeter, and second, the fact that 70 percent of the nitrogen problem comes from non-point sources such as fertilizers, septic tanks and storm water.

"If we went down to 3 milligrams per liter of nitrogen, I fail to see how that's going to be much if any impact on the eelgrass in the Great Bay," Ferraro said. "We need to make sure that the best science is being applied so we're not spending tens of millions of dollars unnecessarily."

The EPA is proposing a new nitrogen limit of 3 milligrams per liter for the town, which local officials say will require them to build a new wastewater treatment plant for an estimated cost of $52 million. Under the memorandum of agreement, the towns would work to achieve a nitrogen limit of 8 milligrams per liter, which Public Works Director Jennifer Perry estimated would cost $36 million for Exeter to achieve.

In addition, data would be collected from the Squamscott River to build a calibrated computer model that would examine other factors contributing to dissolved oxygen in the bay, such as the impact of phosphorus, macroalgae and other organic matter on the estuary, along with the impact of water cloudiness.

The coalition communities have questioned the EPA's science and feel its studies have focused too much on nitrogen loading. Perry publicly asked the EPA last week to withdraw or stay the town's permit.

The N.H. Department of Environmental Services agreed to examine results of the water model and publish them and any new solutions that come from the study, if applicable.

The caveat is that the Great Bay coalition communities must fund the entire project. Perry said $300,000 is one of the early estimates. Split six ways, that would cost $50,000 for each community. Perry said the town set aside money in the budget for permit assistance that could be used to fund the town's contribution to the water model.

If Durham signs on to the memorandum, data collection could start almost immediately and go until September.

The EPA has not publicly said if it will consider results of the coalition's water model. EPA officials have blamed increased nitrogen levels in the estuary for the decline in eelgrass, which is a spawning and nursery habitat for blue crabs, striped bass, bay scallops, lobster and cod.

The EPA's public comment period for Exeter's draft discharge permit is set to expire July 22. The EPA must respond to all comments in writing before issuing a final permit.